{"id":33510,"date":"2019-08-29T22:04:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T22:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/?p=33510"},"modified":"2019-08-29T22:04:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T22:04:00","slug":"5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/","title":{"rendered":"5 simple ways to be a better tourist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Stoen of Travel Babbo has traveled in every way imaginable, from spending a year in Florence, Italy to zipping around the world<\/a> in two weeks with his kids, and through it all he’s figured out some ways to travel better. We asked him for five things that others can do to be more responsible tourists. <\/i><\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 8 ways to make any trip more eco-friendly<\/a><\/p>\n

September 27 marks World Tourism Day<\/strong>, which I think is great because travel is amazing and should be celebrated. However, there\u2019s a frequent online debate about \u201ctravelers\u201d versus \u201ctourists.\u201d On one hand, there\u2019s nothing wrong with being a tourist. You\u2019ve earned your money and you should be able to spend it traveling however you want.<\/p>\n

But\u2026I keep coming back to all of the things I\u2019ve learned in traveling to 94 countries, and what my kids have gotten out of their travels to 59 countries, and I\u2019ve found that there are certain aspects of responsible travel that have such benefits, both locally and personally, that they shouldn\u2019t be ignored. So wherever you\u2019re headed next, with or without kids, I\u2019d encourage you to incorporate these five things into your travels.<\/p>\n

Book travel that supports locals<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you travel somewhere, do it in a way that directly benefits the local economy. Stay overnight in an independently-owned hotel or vacation rental<\/a>. Support small businesses. Dine at non-chain restaurants. Hire a local tour guide. This seems obvious, but I’ve seen so many instances recently where people don’t contribute anything to the places they’re visiting. This could be cruise ship passengers who visit Venice<\/a>, spend a few hours there on a tour led by the cruise company and then head back to the ship. It could mean booking a trip somewhere through a foreign tour operator and then only staying in foreign-owned hotels, and even dining at foreign-owned restaurants. Or buying duty-free souvenirs at the airport instead of venturing into the small family-owned store in the middle of town. Remember, you\u2019re traveling to see a place because there’s something that makes it unique. If you’re not actively helping to maintain that uniqueness, it’s not going to be worth visiting for much longer.<\/p>\n

\"World

At al Ponte Antico<\/a>, our favorite locally owned hotel in Venice.<\/p><\/div>\n

Learn a little of the language<\/strong><\/h2>\n

English is the de-facto international language of tourism, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an effort. Before you travel somewhere, learn to say a few key phrases like, “Yes,” “No,” “Hello,” “Good-bye,” “Thank you,” and “How much does that cost?” in the local language. Even if you mess up the pronunciation, using at least a few words will set you apart. You’ll get better service, and you’ll connect to the culture, and the people, just a little more. It may even lead to a fun conversation or local recommendations. And yes, you can switch back to English for those!<\/p>\n

\"World

My son working on his Danish during a hiking break in the Faroe Islands<\/a>. He’s now taught himself Greek, French and Danish, and is starting on Arabic. We highly recommend using language apps, whether you want to learn a lot or just a little.<\/p><\/div>\n

Travel deeper<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I fully understand that a lot of people like to be “highlight tourists,” checking off all the essentials. That’s fine: Head to Paris<\/a> for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, or take an Instagram-perfect picture in front of Cappadocia<\/a>‘s balloons. But then go beyond that. Sign up for a market tour and cooking class with a local chef. Ride around the countryside with a local on bicycles or Vespas for a day. Ask your taxi driver or front desk person for a restaurant recommendation that they like and that tourists typically don’t frequent. The photo in front of Rome<\/a>‘s Trevi Fountain? That’s what you’ll put on social media. But what you’ll remember is really connecting with your guide at the catacombs, and then being invited over to her house for dinner with her family. That’s the magic of travel. And you may have to break out of your comfort zone just a little to find it.<\/p>\n

\"World

In Cappadocia, Turkey, our favorite activity was a valley hike in G\u00f6reme National Park, including our conversation with this tea seller in the middle of the valley\u2014the only other person we saw during our walk.<\/p><\/div>\n

Be wary of wildlife tourist attractions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are a lot of animal sanctuaries around the world\u2014places where orphaned animals are taken in and species are protected. Seek those out and support them. But anywhere that animals are held captive for your enjoyment? Nope, not a good thing to support. This includes swimming with dolphins (unless it’s in the wild), riding elephants and posing with tigers.<\/p>\n

\"World

Responsible animal tourism at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s amazing elephant orphanage<\/a> in Nairobi, Kenya<\/p><\/div>\n

Look into volunteer opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you’re traveling, see what you can do to benefit the local community. Travelocity has a great program, Travel for Good<\/a>, with links to vetted volunteer opportunities around the U.S. But you can reach out to local organizations, as well, or even the hotel where you’re staying, and ask what you can do for a day or even just a few hours to help people. Every community has different needs, and there’s virtually always a way to help.<\/p>\n

\"World

Helping transplant coral in Vietnam (at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"World

Throughout Asia, monks go out at sunrise to accept donations of rice. We’ve woken up early in Laos and Thailand to donate. (Luang Prabang, Laos<\/a> is pictured).<\/p><\/div>\n

And I’d love to hear from you: What do you do to travel responsibly? Let us know know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s how to respect the people and places you visit, and have a better trip, too. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":33523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[41,386,292],"class_list":["post-33510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-tips","tag-culture","tag-history-culture","tag-travel-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 simple ways to be a better tourist - Inspire | Travelocity.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On this World Tourism Day, here are five things you can integrate into your travels to have a positive impact (and a better vacation too).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 simple ways to be a better tourist - Inspire | Travelocity.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On this World Tourism Day, here are five things you can integrate into your travels to have a positive impact (and a better vacation too).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspire | Travelocity.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-29T22:04:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/20190727_0096_Stoen-198.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Stoen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Stoen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/\",\"name\":\"5 simple ways to be a better tourist - Inspire | Travelocity.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/20190727_0096_Stoen-198.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-29T22:04:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/#\/schema\/person\/38bf5a581b7195fbef8ab0ace28569b8\"},\"description\":\"On this World Tourism Day, here are five things you can integrate into your travels to have a positive impact (and a better vacation too).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/5-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-tourist\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/20190727_0096_Stoen-198.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/20190727_0096_Stoen-198.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"My son working on his Danish (through a language app) during a hiking break in the Faroe Islands. 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